Moray SNP News

Moray MP Angus Robertson met with campaigners from Moray’s Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) group yesterday in Westminster to lend support to their fight against the UK Government’s changes to the state pension age.

The meeting took place after SNP MPs joined the thousands of protestors from across the UK who had gathered outside the Houses of Parliament in London to voice their opposition to the move.

The UK Government has accelerated the process of equalisation of pension ages for men and women, which means that women born in the 1950s have lost thousands of pounds in pension payments without having sufficient time to plan for the changes.

Local Moray MP Nr Robertson says the SNP is pledged to continue pressuring the Government on the issue, which is unfairly penalising the women affect.

Speaking after the meeting, Angus Robertson MP said:

“It was a pleasure to meet the women from Moray WASPI group who had made the long journey to Westminster to make their voices heard and to be part of the protests against this Government’s unfair changes to pension arrangements. The fact that it took place on International Women’s Day highlights the many challenges women continue to face.

“These women have a right to be angry – they have worked hard for decades and have paid their fair share into the pot. The Government must now honour that and recognise that pensions are not a privilege but an entitlement. The Tories laughably claim to be the party of the working people, but the pension changes show clearly that this is simply not the case. In fact, under this Government, ordinary working people are being penalised to cover the costs of the Government’s failed economic policies.

“While I agree with equalisation of the state pension age, I strongly oppose the heavy-handed way in which the Government has imposed these changes. Thousands of women in my constituency, and across the country, now face years without receiving their state pension and a struggle to make ends meet.

“We know that the Government has the money in the National Insurance Fund to help these women, and ensure they get what they are entitled to. I am continuing to urge the Government to do the right thing and scrap these changes immediately.”

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